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Why: The defending World Series champions made quite a turnaround last season, going from worst to first. They are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back championships in more than a decade. Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are gone, but Jackie Bradley appears to be ready for a regular outfield spot, and veteran A.J. Pierzynski has been a steady presence behind the plate for the past 13 years. To replace Drew at shortstop, Boston will look to Xander Bogaerts. This is a team built to win now and has as good a shot as any to win it again.

Why: Most of the pieces from last year’s playoff team are back. The pitching staff remains strong with David Price, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb and Chris Archer in the rotation and newly signed Grant Balfour at the back of the bullpen. Offensively, the Rays will continue to rely on Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist in the middle of it as well as reigning rookie of the year Wil Myers. How the Rays manage to contend every season on their budget remains one of the great stories every year.

Why: They spent more than a half-billion dollars this off-season to improve, adding outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, catcher Brian McCann and Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, who received $155 million and has never pitched in the big leagues. Yes, the Yankees are back to being the Yankees. But this is a new-look team with Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte retiring and Derek Jeter announcing this will be his last season. The Yankees have put resources into winning now, but part of their success hinges on bounce-back seasons by CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Jeter.

Why: Much of the pieces remain from last season, and they bolstered their offense rather cheaply once Nelson Cruz’s market didn’t develop as expected. Cruz will be a nice threat in the lineup along with Chris Davis, fresh off a monster 53-homer season. But the pitching staff is the greatest concern. They traded closer Jim Johnson to the A’s and then backed out of a deal for Grant Balfour. That leaves Tommy Hunter as the front-runner to close games. The rotation, meanwhile, lacks a clear-cut ace.

Toronto Blue Jays

Last year: 74-88 (fifth, AL East)

New faces: C Dioner Navarro (Cubs), INF Brent Morel (White Sox)

Former faces: C J.P. Arencibia (Rangers), RHP Josh Johnson (Padres)

Better, worse or same? Same.

Why: They have made only marginal changes this off-season and are simply counting on rebound years by several players added last off-season. Starters R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle disappointed in their first years, and shortstop Jose Reyes played in only 93 games. Toronto went into last season as a popular pick to reach the World Series, but that fell apart quickly. The talent is still there, but don’t expect anyone to be fooled into picking them again as World Series contenders yet.